Family update...

I thought it would be nice to have an update on the whole family and not just Blaiden (even though he is the one I like to talk about the most).

Fred- He is cruising through school and is almost done.  He has a family practice rotation left and then he will be done with those, he graduates in May, and will start working in July.  His BIG news is that he got an Orthopedic residency spot in Massillon, so that means that we are here for another 5 years.  This is where he wanted to be (me too!) and so we are very happy about this.  School takes up a lot of his time but in his spare time the past few weeks he has been working on his carpentry skills and built a workout bench.  It looks so nice we keep it in the front room to use as a regular bench when he isn't using it for the real reason he built it.

Blaiden- I am going to do Blaiden's 13 month update in a few days so I'll keep this one short.  He is so fun.  He loves to run around the house, be chased, and look outside.  I am sure he would rather be outside than look but the weather has just not been nice enough for us to get outside much.  His laugh has changed, it is lower and more of a laugh then a giggle now.  He can entertain himself but loves when he gets attention.  Once the whole room is looking at him he tries hard to keep that attention.

  Me- Well there is not much news worthy information about me.  My days consist of running errands, cooking, cleaning, and playing.  I am looking forward to having Fred home for a few months before he starts working.  I am looking forward to the weather to get warmer because I found another half marathon in June that I am going to start training for and have a goal time of under 2 hours.  I am very excited that we are staying in Massillon for the next 5 years.  I have not lived in the same area for that long since I have left my parents house for college.  I know that this is a great area to be in and look forward to raising a family here.

The Big Circus Party

On Saturday January 26th we had a big circus party at our house for Blaiden's 1st birthday.  Fred and I worked on decorating the house all day Friday and I think it all turned out great, we were ready for the party tomorrow.

Saturday morning Blaiden got up early which I was hoping for so that he could get a nap in before people showed up at 11.  I did some last minuet cleaning, cooked the food, got ready, and got Blaiden ready.  He took his morning nap and woke up at about 10:45, perfect timing.  I was starting to put the food on the table and popped some popcorn when all the power in the house shut off.  People started arriving and I was on the phone trying to get through to the electric company.  It was a little unorganized for a while.  The power didn't come back on but the sun was out so we didn't notice to much.  We all ate lunch and hung out talking for a while then it was time for Blaiden to eat his cake.

 

I was not to sure how this would go.  On Blaiden's actual birthday we gave him a cupcake and he did not like it at all.  Once it started sticking to his fingers he was done and started screaming to let us know about it.  Well it went much better with his birthday cake.  He was slow at first not knowing what to do but once he started digging in he realized it tasted great and was pretty fun.  He ended up pulling the cake off the plate, threw the plate on the ground and buried his face in the cake.  It was so cute!

 

 

After he was done eating cake I took him up stairs to take a quick bath while everyone else ate dessert.  when we came back down it was time to open presents.  I am not sure how this happened but once again he was spoiled with too many gifts.  I did get a little carried away because we didn't get him much for Christmas since we were traveling.  By this time he was not that interested in opening the gifts but Fred helped him out.  After we were done everyone went home.  As everyone was leaving we had some friends pull up thinking the party was starting at 2.  So we hung out with then for a while after the party.

 Overall I think it went great.  Most of the food was gone, I think the kids had fun, and I was really happy with the turnout. 

Blaiden's Real Birthday

Okay I realize that today is Feb. 13 and I am just writing about Blaiden's birthday, I will try and stay on top of things more.

Blaiden's birthday was on a Thursday.  Fred had to go to work but he came home early so we could celebrate Blaiden's big day in the afternoon. I had it all planned out.  We were going to go to Toy's-R-Us and let Blaiden walk around and pick out a toy, go out to dinner, and end the night at a cupcake store.  Blaiden had gotten $30 from his Great Grandparents earlier in the week so when we got to Toy's-R-Us we were going to use that.  Blaiden had a blast running around.  He would find some older kids and just run after them.  We have never let him just walk around like that and he was loving every second of it.  We stayed there for almost an hour before we checked out with a toy lawn mower, a bath toy, and a new truck.

We went out to dinner and that was a little more stressful then we would have liked it to be, mostly because it took a lot longer then we were planning.  However dinner was great, we had never been to this restaurant before and Blaiden loved eating fish for the first time.  When we were done we headed over to the cupcake shop.  I didn't have the night planned out as perfect as I thought because when we got there the spot was closed.  So plan B was to go to the grocery store and pick up a cupcake.

By the time we got home it was past Blaiden's bed time so eating the cake was not as fun as we were hoping for.  Blaiden started picking at the frosting and tasting it.  Once he was liking the taste he dug in a little bit more but the frosting was sticking to his hands and he couldn't get it off he started to scream.  This was the end of the night for him.

It was a great day and I think Blaiden felt spoiled which is what we were going for.  :)

A Letter To Blaiden

Blaiden,

I can’t believe how fast you have grown.  I think back to this time last year when I had no idea what I was doing, was getting no sleep, and worried about every little thing.  This year I somewhat know what is going on, I am getting a little bit more sleep (the last 2 nights have been wonderful), and I still worry about every little thing.  You have changed everything about my life and now I wonder why I waited so long to bring you into it.

We took you to your 1 year appointment yesterday and your doctor said it perfectly, “is this really the same baby we were so worried about a year ago, he has grown into a beautiful and perfect baby.”  I guess I would make one correction to his statement; you are no longer a baby you have graduated into toddler hood. 

I love everything about you, I can’t get enough.  I love that I get to spend every day with you and enjoy all the little things that you do.  When we are reading books you now have to have your own, this makes it a little hard to show and teach you about things that are on the page, but I have learned that you like to be independent.  You think when we say “Blaiden, come here” it means turn and run so we will chase you.  This makes me laugh every time, even when we are in a hurry.  You love Kiara and when you get the chance to give her a hug you always do.  You also like to crawl over her when she is lying down, which she doesn’t really like but she lets you do it anyway. 

Watching you learn new things is so exciting for me.  We have taught you a few signs and when you catch on I can hardly contain myself.  You learned milk last week and I started jumping up and down while you were in your high chair.  You are starting to use your toys the way they were made to be played with.  You have started wanting to climb up things.  You have climbed up the stairs for a while now but now you want to climb on the couch.  You are not quite tall enough and so you will use a toy to stand on to try and get up, you usually fall but that doesn’t stop you from trying again. 

That little brain of yours is working all the time.  Actually it’s not so little your head circumference is in the 75% for your age.  You love to put balls in any container and carry them around; you get so frustrated when they fall out.  You feel the need to explore everything.  This includes all of the cabinets in the kitchen and any doorway that you can get through.  You also love to carry things, heavy things, I don’t quite get this maybe it boy thing.  While I am in the kitchen cooking you roam around and pull out anything and everything.  By the time I am done I can’t even take a step without tripping on something. 

As you enter this next year of you life I find it hard to let you go, you don’t need me as much anymore and I am having a hard time adjusting to this.  I am trying to give you more space but always know I will be there when you fall or can’t reach something.  I still think of you as my baby, I don’t think that will ever change.

I love you.

Love Mom

Fred's Birthday!!

Fred's birthday this year was probably not the most exciting thing for him.  He had to go to work early in the morning.  Blaiden and I took advantage of him being gone to go out and get him some goodies for that night.  After a morning of shopping we came home and Blaiden took a nap while I did some prep work for dinner.  Fred does not like to go out to eat on his birthday, he won't let us sing, have candles, or even have people over to celebrate.  This year he is on a 'no carb" diet so even cooking dinner was a little difficult.

Fred opened gifts first because Blaiden wanted to help before he had to go to bed.  We decided to eat dinner after we put him to bed so we could eat together and enjoy the meal.  I usually make filet mignon but this year he asked for prime rib.  I was a little nervous about this because I have never made it before but it turned out great.  I used a recipe that I found online by Bobby Flay and I will definitely save it so I can make this again.  The only thing that could have been better was the meat was not medium rare like I was going for.  I let it rest for about 25 minutes which was probably about 10 minutes longer then it needed (bedtime took a little longer then I thought).  Now I know.

Blaiden also got a late birthday present.  This is a rockAbye airplane from my parents.  It plays music and is the perfect size for him.  He is not to sure about it yet, he gets on and rocks for about a min then he is ready to get off.  I am sure this will become one of his favorite toys.